Dry closet



3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

W. D. D-ICKSGN. DRY oL'osBT. No. 483,997. Patented Oct. 11, 1892.

(No Model.)

' 3 Sheatras--Sheet 2; W. D. DICKSON.

DRY GLOSET.

Patented Oct. 11, `1892.

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(No Model.) 3 sheetssheet 3.

W. D. DICKSON. DRY cLosET. ANo. 483,997. Patented Oct. 11, 1892.

UNITED STATES PATENT Orrin,

WILLIAM D.VDIOKSON, OF PEORIA, ILLINOIS.

DRY CLOSET.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent NO. 483,997, dated October11, 1892.

Application led October 22, 1891. Serial No. 409,489. (No model.)

T0 all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM D. Dickson, a citizen of the United States,residing at Pe- Oria, in the county of Peoria and State of Illinois,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dry Closets; and Ido hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, which will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in dryclosets, by means of which a closet is provided simple in constructionand efficient in operation for the purpose for which designed.

More particularly my invention relates to that class of dry closets inwhich the deposits are dried by a current of air drawn through thevault, the air being heated by means of a furnace provided in connectionwith the structure, the heat and smoke emanating therefrom beingutilized insaid vault, as hereinafter more fully set forth.

The essential features of my invention consist of its simple structureand practical and Vnovel means of creating a continuous draftl throughthe foul-air chamber or vault, Where the deposits are received, thefacility for heating said current of air to add to its evaporativeproperty and the ready escape of the foul air through ducts providedinto the ventshaft, and of the ready and convenient means of collectingand burning the desiccated deposits.

That my invention may be more fully understood, reference may be had tothe accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a transverse sectionalview through the line 5 6 of Fig. 2, the said figure being supposed tobe entire. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal Vertical section of a dry closet,showing the construction and arrangement in detail of a portion of itsseveral parts. Fig. 3 is a vertical cut sectional view through the linel 2 in Fig. 2, the said figure being presumed to be entire. Fig. 4 is avertical cut sectional view through the line x x in Fig. 2, the saidfigure being presumed to be entire. Fig. 5 is a transverse sectionalview of a portion of a closet through the line 3 4. Fig. 6 is a verticalsection of the vent-shaft and connecting-ducts with inclosed smoke-flue.Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing the several ducts or outlets fromvault.

In the figures, A represents vertical Walls,

which, together with suitable cross-connee' O indicates the vault of thedry closet, with seats over it in the usual manner, as represented by hh h h; O O', obliquely-bearing sides bearing downward from the sideWalls A A to the central and bottom portion of the vault, which is on aline with the platform or open space B, which is on a line with thelower edge of the opening L in the forward part of the structure. v

K is a vertical Wall eifectually closing ,the rear end of the foul-airvault. Below the foul-air vault and separated therefrom by means of thevertical and oblique partitions represented by O O and B are thefoul-air ducts P P, the fire-box D, separated from the vault by thetransverse horizontal partition B, and the hot-air and smoke tiue F, theash-pit E being separated from the nre-box by means of the grate D. Thepartitions B B O O may be made of brick or any absorbent material, thesaid ducts P P and opening into the general duct G, which in turn opensinto the vent-shaft Z, the smoke-flue continuing through the generalduct G in closed form and connects with the smoke-stack F.

In the front Wall are provided the openings L M N O O, L opening intothe foul-air vault, M into the fire-box, N into the ash-pit, and O Ointo the foul-air ducts, each of said openings being provided with asuitable door to close over the same. Atintervals throughout the obliquepartitions O O are provided the perforations J, opening into thefoul-air ducts below, the said openings being located adjacent to theside walls and at the upper portions of the said oblique partitions andat IOD points immediately between the holes hin the seat-board above, asindicated in Fig. l. The smoke-flue F is closed or walled,so that thereis no communication between the same and the foul-air ducts at itssides. The size and form of the fire-box withreference to the gen* eralstructure is indicated in Fig. 5, but may be `of any size or formdesired, and the smokeflue F may be made round or square, as may bestadapt it to the application to which it may be desired to be used, andthe general form of the entire structure and of its various parts may bemodified at will for convenience of adaptation to practical usel By thearrangement here shown the excrement is received in the vault C, wherethe fecal matter is desiccated by the air drawn through the vault, thesame entering through the holes in the seat-boards above, the driedresidue of such matter or the most of it being deposited upon thecentral floor of the vault, due to the inclined form of the partitions CC throwing it into this position, where it is readily raked forward uponthe floor B, immediately before the opening L, in-which p0- sition it isshoveled into the fire-box below, where it is iinally burned, and themoisture orliquid deposited in the vault is absorbed by the brickandconstantly evaporated by the passing current of air, and all odorsarising therefrom or from the fecal mattei' are conveyed by the currentof air through the openings J into the. foul-air ducts P P, through theygeneral duct G into the ventilatingshaft Z, and from thence to theatmosphere above the building, thus effectually performing the oftice ofventilation. I find thatlayers of brick arranged to form the partitionserve as an' absorbent for the liquid admirably, it being sufficient toabsorb all of the liquid, so that none percolates through the bottom ofthevault, and the layer of brick makes a floor that can readily becleaned off, if desired, and also enables the deposit thereon to bedried out more quickly, as the brick partition or the vertical portionthereof B' also forms the up-` per Wall of the heat or smoke flueconnected with the fire-box. The particular advantage of the heat orsmoke flue being placed immediately below the vault and being separatedtherefrom merely by the brick partition is that the heat from thefire-boXD is utilized vnot only to dry out the eXcrement deposited inthe vault, but also to heat the air that enters the vault, therebyincreasing its absorbent or evaporative capacity, which is thus appliedthroughout the entire length of the vault, and as it is a well-settlednatural law use of my improved dry closet consists not only in itsstructural advantage, but in its perfect adaptation for ventilation. Ithas an advantage over dry closets designed to utilize impure air drawnfrom the various rooms of the building, thus establishing a directconnection between the foul-air vault and the various rooms, in thatthere is no connection between the vault in my closet with the saidrooms, thus rendering it impossible for a reverse current to beestablished bearing Jthe foul air upward into the various rooms 1nsteadof through the vent-flue, this being liable to occur'with dry closets ofthat class, and to prevent such occurrence the greatest care must beexercised, and the said closet is practically inoperative for thepurpose of ventilation except that a lire be built in the furnace orstove to establish the current, while by the use of my improved drycloset a ready, continuous, and perfect dow of air is established fromthe room containing the closet through the openings in the seats intothe foul-air vault, and from thence is conducted, as previouslyexplained, to the atmosphere above the building. Afurthe-r advantagepossessed by its use is the facility provided by the platform B fordrawing the fecal matter. forward to be readily dried and evaporated ordesiccated by the heat from the fire-box immediately below the platformBto render the same more combustible, and thus enabling the vault to becleaned oftener than it could otherwise be were this provision not made,and which provision is not made in any dry closets now in use, and bythe fecal matter being so drawn from beneath the seats it is preventedfrom being saturated by liquid deposits, which if they remained in theiroriginal position would not soon dry out.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, iss- 1. In a dry closet, a vault havingarranged therein the transverse partition B and its eX- tension B', thepartitions C' C', bearing from the sides of the vault obiiquely downwardto the level of the transverse partitions B and upon the partition B',so arranged as to facilitate the deposit of eXcrementin the center ofthe vault, and having the openings J J J, &c., as ducts for thetransmission of foul air into the ducts P P, the heat or smoke duct F,the foul-air ducts PP, and the partitions composed of layers of brick orsimilar absorbent material arranged to receive, absorb, and retain theliquid matter deposited in the vault until the same is evaporated by thecurrent of air passing through the vault, all'substantially as describedand set forth.

2. In combination with the vault C of a dry closet, the transverseabsorbent partitions B B', and oblique partitions C' C', with anair-space above and a fire-box below the partition B, a heat or smoke uebelow the partition B', and air-ducts below the partitions C' C', andwith perforations J J J, duc., to pro- IOO vide air-ducts connectingthevault C with the air-ducts P P, all substantially as described andset forth.

3. The combination, in a dry closet, of the vault C, connected with thefoul-air ducts P PA by means of the perforations J J J, &c., in thepartitions C C', the ducts PP, connected with the vent-shaft at one endfor the passage of a current of air, the ire-box D, separated from thevault C by means of the partition B, and the duct F underneath the vaultand connected at one end to a smoke-Hue F for the passage of smoke, allsubstantially as shown and described.

4. The combination, with a building, of a vault or dry closet, as C,constructed with the holes h h h, dre., for admission of air from theroom containing the closet or from the exterior of the building bysuitable ducts, the transverse partitions B B separating the fireboxfrom the Vault proper. the oblique partitions C C', provided with theopenings J J J, tbc., the fire and smoke duct F, connected with suitableflue, and foul-air ducts P P, connected with flue in suitable manner,all sub-y stantially as described and set forth.

5. In combination with a building, a dry closet constructed as follows:of the framework A A, provided with suitable crosspartitions,perpendicular and oblique partitions forming the vault C, the sameconnected from without by the air-ducts or seat-holesh h h h for theadmission of air linto the Vault, the foul-air ducts P P, separated fromthe vault C by means of the oblique partitions C C', but connectedtherewith for the purpose of free passage of air by means of theperforations or openings J J J, &c.,in said partltions vC C', thenre-box D, separated from the vault C by means of the transversepartition B, the heat and smoke duct F, opening out of the fire-box andseparated from the vault C by means of the partition B', the generalduct G, connected with the foul-air ducts P P, the vent-shaft Z,connected with the air-duct G and inclosing the smoke-Hue F, theash-p1t-E, and the openingsL M N O O, connected with the variouscompartments within the structure and all provided with suitable doors,all substantially as shown.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature 1n presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM D. DICKSON. Witnesses:

BoB MCOORMICK, J osIE TEFFT.

